Into the Abyss
by Buttered Corn on the Cob
Summary: The world is in danger. The walls separating Earth from another dimension are breaking down, and terrible things are coming through. Now, a trio of wizards has taken up the mission of stopping them. They must travel the Earth and venture into the unknown to save the world, but someone or something will do anything in its power to rise to Earth, and if it does, it will be the end.


Chapter 1 – Dancing with Death

Vladimir Popescu climbed out of his red Renault Clio I, brushing his shaggy strawberry blonde hair out of his eye with his hand. His friend Lukas got out soon after, taking out his phone to make a call. After waiting a few moments, Lukas put his phone away again.

"Still no answer," the Norwegian said in reply to Vladimir's curious expression. Vlad sighed and rubbed his eyes. The two had been trying to contact the third member of their group – and Englishman named Arthur Kirkland – for days, but to no avail. They had considered filing a missing persons report, but decided against it. The trio was a team of monster hunters, not to mention wizards, so there was no telling if some supernatural force was involved in Arthur's disappearance. Getting anyone else involved could prove dangerous. Besides, they had Arthur's cousins on the case too, so that makes for seven people, all with some degree of magical ability.

"Hope Artie's okay," the Romanian commented, mostly to himself. Lukas gave a grunt of agreement. Vlad decided to change the subject. "So, you sure there's a case here?"

Currently the duo was in France investigating a string of deaths, all within a five-mile radius. Lukas felt there was something unnatural about it, but Vlad wasn't too sure. Then again, Lukas was better at detecting supernatural activity than Vladimir was.

"Ten people dead in their homes in the past four days, all perfectly healthy, with no sign of forced entry? Yes, Vlad, it's our kind of thing," Lukas replied, giving an exasperated sigh.

"I'm just saying, the police could have missed something."

"Yeah, they did. They missed the monster," the Norwegian retorted.

"Okay, fine, you win," Vlad chuckled. "Let's go check in." He gestured to the motel they were parked at, a quaint place on the outskirts of Paris. "I wonder if we'll see Francis," he laughed, and Lukas elbowed him in the ribs.

They checked in with no problem, and upon entering the room, Vlad dropped his luggage on the floor and flopped onto one of the two beds provided. "Finally, a bed! I'm so tired," he groaned. He had driven from the team's base in Romania to France, stopping only at diners and gas stations for a bite to eat, a bathroom break, or to refuel. Lukas had taken over for a few hours so Vlad could take a quick nap, but, for the most part, the Romanian had been behind the wheel.

Lukas gave a noncommittal grunt, and was going to suggest Vlad do some research on the victims, but he was already asleep. Lukas decided to turn in as well. He took a quick shower and went to bed.

The next morning, Lukas had to nag Vladimir to full consciousness. He was worn out.

"Get up," Lukas said.

"Nooooo…." Vladimir whined.

"Get up," Lukas said again, this time more forcefully.

"Noooooooo…." Vlad said again, quieter.

Lukas grabbed Vlad's ankles and literally dragged him out of the bed. Vlad gave a small cry, kicking at the Norwegian. "I dun' wanna…" he groaned.

"Quit whining." Lukas let go of Vladimir. The Norwegian was already dressed, and was itching to speak to the latest victim. "Hurry up and get ready. There was almost another death last night, but the victim survived."

Still wearing the clothes from the day before, Vlad stood up, yawned, and went to take a shower. He was out in ten minutes, dressed in a suit and tie and ready to go. They were out the door and in the car, on their way to the local hospital.

At the receptionist's desk, Lukas held up his wallet, showing what seemed to be a blank piece of paper. Vladimir did the same. Of course, it only looked blank to those with the Sight, the ability to see through spells. To anyone else it would appear as whatever the holder wanted it to. In this case, the receptionist saw two French FBI badges.

"Jean-Luc Delafosse, please," Lukas said, speaking French.

"Room 219. I thought the police already spoke to him?"

"Of course. We're just here to clear some things up, ma'am. Have a nice day," he supplied, then turned towards the elevators, followed by Vlad. They quickly found Room 219. Inside was a young man, appearing to be in his early thirties or late twenties.

"Mr. Delafosse?" Vladimir asked. The man lifted his head. "Could you tell us what happened to you last night?"

"I already told the police what happened," he answered weakly.

"We need a few clarifications. Now, tell us what happened, Mr. Delafosse," Lukas said.

"Alright," the Frenchman began. "I- I was in the kitchen, putting away some plates, when I heard this… It was like a hiss, but very low. I turned around, and I…" he trailed off.

"What did you do, Mr. Delafosse?" Vlad coaxed.

"It was horrible… I could hear it, 'I shall walk the Earth, and my hunger shall know no bounds.'"  
Lukas raised an eyebrow at Vladimir.

"It… It was the Devil!" Delafosse cried. "The Devil came for me last night! The end is coming!" he continued.

"Calm down, sir, it wasn't the Devil," the Romanian comforted. "I'm sure you just imagined it."

"Thank you, Mr. Delafosse," Lukas said. "We have everything we need. Just one more thing: how would you describe the thing you saw? As in, what did it look like, not what you think it is."  
"It was a skeletal figure, impossibly tall. Th- the fires of hell blazed in it eyes… A-and it was cloaked in nightmares. I never shall forget it. Do you need anything else?"

"No, sir. We wish you well," Lukas said, turning to leave. The duo left the hospital, and returned to their room at the motel.

Vlad was the first to speak after the conversation with Mr. Delafosse. "So. What do ya think it is?"

"It's something straight out of _Torchwood._ Really. Season two, about halfway through, Death tried rising to Earth. He was a huge skeleton, with a dark aura. And he said the exact same thing, 'I shall walk the Earth and my hunger shall know no bounds.' The team stopped him by starving him of life energy. I don't remember anything about him being able to pass through solid objects, though. I think he needed thirteen souls to rise to full power."

"Really? We're using a TV show as evidence?"

"Well, Death is often personified in lore, so I don't see why it wouldn't be possible for this specific portrayal to be a 'true' one."

"I guess that makes sense. Anyway, I'm going get something to eat. You want anythin'?"

"Just get me whatever. I'll keep an eye out for any reports of a giant skele-monster."

"Okie-dokie." Vlad bounced out of the room, leaving Lukas alone to make sure Death didn't get the final three souls he needed.

"Hey Luke, I'm back!" Vlad called as he walked into the motel room, holding a bag of food from McDonald's. Lukas was gone.

Vlad put down his food. It wasn't like Lukas to just disappear without leaving at least a note.

 _Oh God, something happened with Death_ ¸Vladimir realized. He bolted out the door, roughly closing it as he ran for his car.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and hastily dialed Lukas's number. No answer. The Romanian checked the tracker the team had installed on their phones in case of one them went missing. Thankfully, it pinpointed Lukas quickly. The Norwegian was only a few blocks away in a nearby neighborhood. The relief was short-lived, however, as Vlad quickly realized that this meant Death was striking again. He was in the car and down the road in a flash.

Pulling up to a quaint home on the end of the street, Vladimir immediately noticed that the door was kicked in. He hurried through the open doorway. Inside he found the living room was a mess: chairs were strewn about, a table was overturned, one wall was peppered with bullet holes, and the TV screen was cracked. Vlad hoped he wouldn't have to replace that.

Shouting from the second floor, followed by running footsteps, caught the Romanian's attention. He bolted down the hall and up the stairs. At the top, he found Lukas, gun in hand, standing between a young woman and a closed door. Lukas threw a glance back at the newcomer.

"Vlad!" he barked, "Go grab the iron chains from the car!"

Vlad nodded. He dashed out of the house and climbed into the back seat to find the chains. Most monsters were vulnerable to iron and could not cross barriers of it, so the team of hunters often brought chains along on their hunts. After frantically searching through the gear stored in the trunk, Vladimir finally grabbed what he was looking for, and slammed the rear door shut on his way back to the house.

Again inside, he was up the stairs and at Lukas's side in mere moments. Lukas grabbed the chains, handed Vlad his pistol, and stalked towards the door. He threw open the door and swung one of the chains out in front of him in a wide arc. There was a shriek from inside the room and Vlad could hear Lukas grunt in exertion as he yanked sharply on the chain, wrapped it around his wrist, and struck out with another one using his free hand. The Norwegian pulled on both chains, leaning back to use his weight with his strength. The shrieks continued as Lukas took a step back, dragging whatever was in the room closer to the hall.

"Get closer and shoot!" he ordered, straining against the monster's pull.

Vladimir obeyed. The woman behind him backed down into the stairwell as Vlad drew nearer to the doorway. Inside was a dark figure, writhing against the two chains wrapped around it tightly. The Romanian aimed his pistol. He pulled the trigger. The sound of the shot rang throughout the house. The monster stopped moving after the bullet pierced its skull. Lukas almost fell flat on his back when the beast went limp. The Norwegian threw the chains to the floor and ran his hands through his pale blond hair, catching his breath.

"We were wrong," Lukas explained. "It wasn't Death, our culprit was a Wicca collecting souls for a ritual. Of course, I should have expected our assumptions to be incorrect, given we used a British television series as evidence."

Vladimir shrugged. "What do we do with the body?" he asked.

"What we do with every body: burn it," Lukas answered.

"Just put a dead man in our car?"

"Obviously. And we won't have Artie in the back complaining about it, which is a nice plus."

"Well, Lukas knows best," Vladimir said in a singsong voice. Lukas rolled his eyes at the Disney film reference.

"C'mon, let's go before the police get here."

Vladimir grabbed the Wicca, throwing the body over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. In the living room, Lukas was speaking with the homeowner, explaining what just happened as best as he could. She was incredibly shaken, but seemed to accept Lukas's explanation. She was smart enough to know that what she had just witnessed was something supernatural.

"Sorry for the damage, miss," Vlad apologized as he passed them.

"It's alright," the woman answered. "Better than being dead, I suppose," she chuckled.

"Well, we should be off," concluded Lukas, waving farewell. He followed Vladimir out the door. The two put the body on the floor in the car's backseat, covering it with a blanket. They couldn't cremate it there, so they drove out of Paris, pulling over on a lonely road and heading a few miles away to dispose of the corpse.

When it was done, the two returned to the motel. The next morning, they checked out and were back on the road.

"Where to? Yours?" Vladimir asked, to which Lukas shrugged.

"Doesn't matter much to me. I suppose we should check up on Arthur's cousins. Ali's got his own crew; maybe they've got something we could help out with."

"Catch a ferry from France to England, then?"  
"No, we'll just swim," Lukas answered sarcastically. When Vladimir gave him a strange look, he answered, "What? With Arthur gone, _somebody_ has to be salty."

Vladimir didn't laugh. "I'm really starting to worry about Artie," the Romanian sighed.

"That's why we're visiting Allistor. If anyone's going to be able to help us, it's him."

Vlad nodded. He turned on the radio to get his mind off Arthur's disappearance, and focused on the road ahead.

A/N:

Well, it's finally finished! The first chapter of my first _proper_ Hetalia fic! Having written mostly crackfics in the past, it feels good to write something serious, as fun as crackfics are. This fic is sort of a _Supernatural_ -esque thing, and I have a lot in store for my readers. Lots of nations will make appearances, and are not limited to just the European countries. There will be tears, too. That's all I'll say for now! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and let me know how I did!


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